JP4749441B2 - Handrail universal coupler - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a handrail universal connector, and more particularly, to a handrail universal connector that allows a variety of shapes of handrails to be installed with a small number of members such as slopes and attachment directions of handrails.

  Various handrail couplers are provided in which the handrail attachment angle can be appropriately set according to the situation of the installation location. However, the conventional handrail coupler having such a function cannot be adjusted in the angle of the handrail, so various mechanisms are incorporated, and as a result, the structure is complicated. In addition, one handrail is usually attached to the handrail connector disposed at the end portion, and two or more handrails are attached to the intermediate handrail connector. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a handrail connector for the terminal portion and a handrail connector for the intermediate portion, which increases the number of parts and increases the labor and cost of installation. Therefore, there has been a demand for a handrail connector that requires less labor for installation, has fewer parts, and is less expensive to install.

  Such a handrail connector is also gradually provided. For example, the universal joint disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes two members of a pair of upper and lower hemispherical blocks and a bracket for connecting a handrail bar that is rotatable in the vertical direction. And a total of five members, i.e., one member of a support block that is pivotally fixed to the upper end of the column as a horizontally rotatable sphere as a hemispherical block, thereby forming a universal joint. In addition to making it possible to perform a simple connection, the connection work is facilitated, and a handrail can be configured with fewer members.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses an installation structure of a vertical handrail, and shows a pole support bracket having the following configuration attached to the vertical handrail. That is, the pole support bracket is formed with a plurality of pipe sockets that are integrally configured to have a spherical portion at the end surface portion, and a hemispherical spherical concave portion that supports the lower half portion of the spherical portion in the circumferential direction of the upper surface portion. A plurality of spherical recesses that support the upper half of the spherical portion in the same arrangement as the spherical recesses of the lower member in the circumferential direction of the lower member, and the same size hemispherical shape, The ball member is configured by including an upper member that is overlaid on the lower member, and the spherical portion of the pipe socket is accommodated and held in a spherical recess formed in the upper member and the lower member, whereby the spherical portion is connected to the ball joint. It is designed to be supported so that it can rotate freely. Also, the wall mounting bracket, like the pole support bracket, rotates the spherical part like a ball joint by accommodating and holding the spherical part of the pipe socket in a spherical recess formed in the wall fixing member and the lid member. Supports freely.

  In order to prevent the handrail bar from inadvertently moving, the handrail bar is fixed by tightening the spherical portion with a set screw that penetrates the lid member and reaches the surface of the spherical portion. A bracket having the same configuration is also disclosed in Patent Document 3.

  In addition, the present inventor has also invented a handrail attachment that can easily install a handrail even on an inclined surface having a complicated shape, and has filed various patent applications (Patent Documents 4 and 5). .

JP 2007-92359 A JP 2004-316089 A JP 2004-316091 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-119988 International Publication No. 2003/035997 Pamphlet

  However, in the universal joint disclosed in Cited Document 1, there is no mention of a joint for connecting the handrail at the end, and in the case of the joint at the end, a handrail bar is provided on one bracket. It is necessary to prepare a hemispherical block for the final end that is not connected or has no bracket.

  Further, the pole support brackets disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 fix the handrail bar by fixing the spherical portion only with a set screw that passes through the lid member and reaches the surface of the spherical portion. There is a risk that the handrail bar will rattle due to looseness. In addition, since the set screw only touches the surface of the spherical part and presses the surface, the pressing force of the set screw is applied to the handrail bar when a large load is applied in the rotation direction around the handrail bar mounting direction. There is a risk that the handrail bar will rotate around the mounting direction as a shaft. If the grab handrail rotates around it, it is extremely dangerous and may cause a serious accident such as a fall.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a handrail universal coupler that can install handrails of various shapes such as slopes and polygons with a minimum number of parts. And
In addition, the present invention provides a handrail that can be securely and securely fixed without rotation of the handrail even when a large load is applied in the rotation direction about the handrail attachment direction. An object of the present invention is to provide a universal coupler.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 includes a handrail attaching portion for attaching a handrail to one end side, and a handrail holding body having a substantially spherical joint portion on the other end side; Rotation prevention that prevents the handrail attached to the handrail holding body from rotating around the attachment direction as a main body with a housing part that can hold the joint part movably and thereby change the installation angle of the handrail The rotation preventing mechanism includes one or two or more convex portions provided so as to protrude from the surface of the joint portion and an edge portion of the accommodating portion. It is formed so that when the handrail attached to the handrail holding body guides the convex portion and tries to rotate about its mounting direction, the convex portion abuts to prevent the rotation. Abutment Ete provide a universal coupling of the handrail, characterized by comprising configured.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 2 is the universal connection device of the handrail according to claim 1, wherein the main body is formed by combining the upper main body and the lower main body. Is characterized in that a plurality of recesses are provided, each of which forms an accommodating portion that holds the joint portion without being removed when the upper main body and the lower main body are combined.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 3 is the universal connection device of the handrail according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recess is formed at the center of each joint surface of the upper body and the lower body to be joined to each other. It is characterized by being provided at a point-symmetrical position.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 4 is the universal connection device of the handrail according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the recesses are respectively provided in the upper body and the lower body to be joined to each other. It is provided at a position asymmetric with respect to the center of the joint surface.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 5 is the universal connector for a handrail according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the joint portion is held in the housing portion of the main body and the upper main body. The joint portion is clamped by fastening the lower body with a fastening member, whereby the handrail can be fixed at a predetermined angle.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 6 is the universal joint of the handrail according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the joint portion of the handrail holding body among the plurality of housing portions formed. It is characterized in that a load balance at the time of fastening of the upper main body and the lower main body is maintained by accommodating a spherical member in the accommodating portion that does not hold the cap.

  According to the handrail universal connector according to the present invention, the handrail attachment angle can be freely set, so that the handrail can be installed according to the situation of the installation place, and such handrail can be freely connected with a small number of parts. There is an effect that the implement can be realized. Thereby, there is an effect that the management of parts and the inventory management at the installation site are greatly reduced, and the cost is also reduced.

  Moreover, according to the handrail universal connector according to the present invention, when only one handrail holding body is attached to the main body, such as the terminal handrail, the spherical member is accommodated in the other accommodating portion that does not hold the joint portion. Therefore, there is an effect that the balance of the load when the upper main body and the lower main body are fastened is maintained and the reliability of the strength is increased.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a universal handrail connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a handrail universal connector according to the present invention.

  The illustrated universal coupler 1 generally includes a handrail holding body 20 having a substantially spherical joint portion 21, a main body 10 that movably holds the joint portion 21, and a handrail attached to the handrail holding body 20. 5 is provided with a rotation prevention mechanism for preventing the rotation with respect to the mounting direction as an axis.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the handrail holding body 20 includes a handrail mounting portion 25 for mounting the handrail 5 on one end side thereof, and a substantially spherical joint portion 21 on the other end side. . The handrail mounting portion 25 is formed in a hollow shape so that the end portion of the handrail 5 can be inserted therein, and is a screw formed on the side surface of the handrail holding body 20 with the handrail 5 inserted into the handrail mounting portion 25. The handrail 5 is fixed to the handrail holding body 20 by fastening with a screw member (not shown) from the hole 20a. The handrail attaching portion 25 only needs to be formed according to the shape of the end portion of the handrail to be attached, and various shapes such as a cylindrical shape, an elliptical shape, and a polygonal shape can be adopted.

  On the other hand, the joint portion 21 has a substantially spherical shape that is housed and held in the housing portion 11 to be described later, and a convex portion 23 is provided on the surface thereof. The convex portion 23 constitutes a rotation prevention mechanism for preventing the handrail 5 from rotating. In this embodiment, the convex part 23 is provided in two places, and the positional relationship is point-symmetric with respect to the center of the sphere, as in the so-called North Pole and South Pole, with respect to the attachment part 21a. It is arranged at a position of 90 °. In addition, the convex part 23 is good to be provided in the joint part 21 at least at one place, preferably at two places. Since the handrail holding body 20 is required to have high reliability, for example, it is preferably formed of a metal material such as stainless steel, but may be formed of a synthetic resin or the like if the strength can be accommodated.

  The main body 10 is formed by combining the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13, and the accommodating portions 11 that movably accommodate the joint portions 21 of the handrail holder 20 are provided at two positions facing each other. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper body 12 has a shape in which a sphere is halved, and a screw hole 12 d is formed in the center of the top body 12 so as to penetrate the center from the top. Yes. On the bottom surface of the upper body 12, that is, the joint surface that is joined to the lower body 13 described later, as best shown in FIG. 4, an accommodation portion 11 for accommodating the joint portion 21 is formed. A recess 12a is formed. The recesses 12 a are provided at two positions that are point-symmetric with respect to the center of the great circle that forms the joint surface of the hemispherical upper body 12.

  Further, an upper abutting portion 12c is formed on the joint surface of the upper body 12 along the edge of the concave portion 12a so that the convex portion 23 abuts and restricts its movement. When the handrail 5 attached to the handrail holding body 20 by the upper contact portion 12c and the lower contact portion 13c of the lower main body 13 described later tries to rotate about the attachment direction, the convex portion 23 is formed. A contact portion 15 (see FIG. 7) that constitutes a rotation prevention mechanism that prevents the rotation of the contact is formed (see FIG. 9C).

  On the other hand, the lower main body 13 combined with the upper main body 12 has a half-spherical shape as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and the joint surface shape is substantially the same as that of the upper main body 12. It has a configuration. That is, a screw hole 13d is formed in the center so as to penetrate the inside, and the screw member 17 (see FIG. 8) is fastened in communication with the screw hole 12d of the upper body 12. ing. Thereby, the upper body 12 and the lower body 13 are integrally combined to form the body 10.

  Further, as best shown in FIG. 6, a recess 13a is formed on the joint surface of the lower body 13 joined to the upper body 12, and is integrated with the recess 12a of the upper body 12 described above. The accommodating part 11 for accommodating the joint part 21 is formed. The recesses 13a are provided at two points symmetrical with respect to the center of the great circle forming the joining surface of the hemispherical lower main body 13.

  Furthermore, a lower contact portion 13c is formed on the joint surface of the lower main body 13 so that the convex portion 23 abuts along the edge of the concave portion 13a and restricts its movement. As described above, the lower contact portion 13c and the upper contact portion 12c allow the handrail 5 attached to the handrail holding body 20 to rotate when the attachment direction is an axis. A contact portion 15 (see FIG. 7) that constitutes a rotation prevention mechanism that prevents the rotation of the contact is formed (see FIG. 9C). A guide piece 13e for positioning with the upper body 12 is provided on the joint surface of the lower body 13.

  Further, the lower main body 13 is integrally formed with a standing portion 19 and a column support body 30 for attaching the column 7 to the lower end portion of the standing portion 19. A hollow column attachment portion 35 is formed in the column support body 30, and the column 7 is inserted into the inside like the handrail support body 20. And the attachment to the support | pillar 7 is performed by fastening a screw member through the screw hole 30a drilled in the side surface of the support | pillar holding body 30. As shown in FIG.

  The handrail holding body 20 movably attached to the main body 10 formed as described above can be freely moved in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction around the joint portion 21.

  Here, the swing angle θ1 of the handrail 5 in the horizontal direction is adjusted by appropriately adjusting the size and shape of the opening of the accommodating portion 11 of the main body 10 formed by combining the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13 (FIG. 9A )) And the vertical swing angle θ2 (see FIG. 9B) can be adjusted, and this point will be described. That is, if the width sizes of the openings 12b and 13b of the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13 shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 are reduced, the attachment portion 21a of the joint portion 21 is formed with a slight swing angle between the openings 12b and 13b. Since it comes into contact with the peripheral edge, the allowable range of the installation angle in the horizontal direction of the handrail 5 becomes small.

  On the contrary, if the width of the openings 12b and 13b is increased, the allowable range of the installation angle in the horizontal direction of the handrail 5 is increased. Moreover, if the height size of the openings 12b and 13b is reduced, the allowable range of the installation angle in the vertical direction of the handrail 5 is reduced. On the contrary, if the height of the openings 12b and 13b is increased, the allowable range of the installation angle in the vertical direction of the handrail 5 is increased. In the case where the convex portion 23 provided in the joint portion 21 is provided at one place, the convex portion 23 is not positioned outward from the openings 12b and 13b when the handrail holding body 20 is moved. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the size of the openings 12b and 13b of the accommodating portion 11. Otherwise, the convex portion 23 does not come into contact with the contact portion 15, and the handrail 5 may rotate around the mounting direction.

  In addition, the position of the accommodating portion 11 is provided, for example, at a point-symmetrical position with respect to the center of the great circle that forms the joint surface of each of the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13, and the maximum of the handrail holding bodies 20, 20 If the swing angle is 90 °, the angle formed by the two handrail holders 20 and 20 is 90 to 180 °, and the installation angle of the handrail 5 can be adjusted within the range. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10B, the position where the accommodating portion 11 is formed is set to be asymmetrical with respect to the center of the great circle that forms the joint surfaces of the upper body 12 and the lower body 13. The attachment angle of the two handrail holding bodies 20, 20 can be an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

  Next, an example in which a handrail is installed using the above-described universal coupler 1 is shown in FIG. The handrail shown in the figure is freely connected via a universal connector 1a at the end portion, a universal connector 1b connected to the universal connector 1a at the end portion via a handrail 5, and a universal connector 1b via a handrail 5. Each of the universal couplers 1a, 1b, and 1c is attached to an upper end portion of a column 7 installed at a predetermined position. Here, since there is no need to attach the handrail 5 to one of the two accommodating portions 11 of the endless universal coupler 1a, the handrail holding body 20 is not naturally attached.

  However, when the handrail holding body 20 is attached only to one side and the joint portion 21 of the handrail holding body 20 on one side is sandwiched between the upper body 12 and the lower body 13 without attaching anything to the other side, the upper body It is impossible to balance the load evenly when the lower body 12 and the lower body 13 are fastened. Therefore, when the joint portion 23 of the handrail holding body 20 is not held in the storage portion 11, the spherical member 40 is stored as shown in FIG. 8 to equalize the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13 during fastening. Balance the load. The spherical member 40 is a substantially spherical member having an outer shape substantially the same size as the joint portion 21 of the handrail holding body 20, and is preferably formed of the same material as the joint portion 21. Thereby, the handrail holding body 20 of the universal connector 1 a installed at the terminal end is also safely held by the main body 10.

  As described above, according to the universal coupler 1, the handrail holding body 20 can be attached to any housing portion 11 of the main body 10, and as a result, the upper main body 12, the standing portion 19 and the column holding member The handrail can be installed according to the situation of the installation location by the lower body 13 including the body 30, the handrail holding body 20, the spherical member 40, and the few members of the screw member 17. In addition, parts management and inventory management are greatly reduced, and as a result, installation costs can be greatly reduced.

  Next, the installation method and operation | movement of the universal coupler 1 mentioned above are demonstrated, referring FIG. Supports 7 and 7 are erected at predetermined intervals at locations where handrails are to be installed, respectively. The universal connector 1 is attached so that the upper end portions of the upright columns 7 and 7 are inserted into the column mounting portions 35 of the column holding body 30. The universal connector 1 is attached by fastening a screw member from a screw hole 30a formed in a side surface of the support holder 30. Then, the handrail 5 with the handrail holding body 20 attached to one end is attached to the universal connector 1a at the end portion. That is, the screw member 17 is loosened, the joint portion 21 of the handrail holding body 20 is inserted into the recesses 12a and 13a from the openings 12b and 13b on one side of the upper body 12 and the lower body 13, and the recesses 12a and 13a on the other side. The spherical member 40 is loaded into the head. Then, the screw member 17 is tightened to such an extent that the handrail holding body 20 is movable.

  The handrail holding body 20 is attached to the end portion on the opposite side of the handrail 5 attached to the universal coupler 1a at the end portion. At this time, the screw member is not yet fixed. Then, the joint portion 21 of the handrail holding body 20 that is not yet fixed to the handrail 5 is attached to the accommodation portion 11 on one side of the universal connector 1b attached to the support column 7 that is erected next to the universal connector 1a at the end portion. The upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13 are tightened with the screw member 17 to such an extent that the handrail holding body 20 can move. At this time, the attachment position of the handrail 5 is adjusted by moving the attachment position of the handrail holding body 20 to the handrail 5, and when the attachment position of the handrail 5 is determined, the handrail holding body 20 is finally fixed to the handrail 5. Then, the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13 of the universal connector 1 a at the terminal end are firmly fastened by the screw members 17.

  Next, the screw member 17 of the universal coupler 1b is slightly loosened, and the joint portion 21 of the handrail holding body 20 fixed to one end of another handrail 5 is accommodated in the other accommodation portion 11 so that the handrail holding body 20 is movable. Then, the screw member 17 is tightened again to such an extent as possible. At this time, the handrail 5 connected to the universal connector 1a at the end portion is firmly fixed to the universal connector 1a at the end portion, so that no positional deviation occurs. The handrail holding body 20 is attached to the opposite end of the handrail 5 newly attached to the universal coupler 1b. At this time, the screw member is not yet fixed. Then, the joint portion 21 of the handrail holding body 20 that is not yet fixed to the handrail 5 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 11 on one side of the universal connector 1c attached to the column 7 that is erected next to the universal connector 1b. The upper body 12 and the lower body 13 are tightened with the screw member 17 to such an extent that the handrail holding body 20 can move. Similarly to the above-described case, the attachment position of the handrail 5 is adjusted by moving the attachment position of the handrail holding body 20 relative to the handrail 5, and when the attachment position of the handrail 5 is determined, the handrail holding body 20 is finally attached to the handrail 5. Fix it. Then, the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 13 of the universal connector 1 a at the terminal end are firmly fastened by the screw members 17. Then, this operation is sequentially repeated. In addition, the spherical part 40 is loaded and fixed to the accommodating part 11 which does not attach the handrail holding body 20 among the universal couplers 1 of the last end on the opposite side to the universal coupler 1a. Finally, check the tightness of the screw members at each part and confirm that there are no slacks or play.

  As described above, the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims, Needless to say, various modifications and changes are possible.

It is a perspective view of one Embodiment of the universal connector of the handrail which concerns on this invention. It is a side view of a handrail holding body. It is a front view of an upper body. It is a bottom view of an upper main part. It is a front view which shows a lower main body, a standing part, and a support | pillar holding body. It is a top view which shows the state which attached the handrail holding body to the lower main body. It is a figure which shows the contact part which comprises a rotation prevention mechanism. It is a disassembled block diagram which shows the universal connector and spherical member of a termination | terminus part. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows the movable state of a handrail, (a) is a top view, (b) And (c) is a side view. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the position state of an accommodating part. It is a perspective view of one Example which installed the handrail using the universal connector concerning the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 1b, 1c Universal connector 5 Handrail 7 Support | pillar 10 Main body 11 Storage part 12 Upper part body 12a Recess 12b Open part 12c Upper contact part 12d Screw hole 13 Lower main body 13a Recess 13b Open part 13c Lower contact part 13d Screw hole 13e Guide piece 15 Abutting portion 19 Standing portion 20 Handrail holding body 20a Screw hole 21 Joint portion 21a Mounting portion 23 Convex portion 25 Handrail mounting portion 30 Column holder 30a Screw hole 35 Column mounting portion

Claims (6)

A handrail mounting portion for attaching a handrail to one end side and a handrail holding body having a substantially spherical joint portion on the other end side, and the joint portion are movably held, thereby installing the handrail A handrail universal coupling device comprising a main body having a housing portion capable of changing an angle, and a rotation preventing mechanism for preventing the handrail attached to the handrail holding body from rotating about the attachment direction as an axis. ,
The rotation prevention mechanism is
One or more convex portions provided to protrude from the surface of the joint portion;
The convex portion is formed when the handrail formed along the edge of the housing portion guides the convex portion and is attached to the handrail holder to rotate about the attachment direction. A contact portion formed so as to contact and prevent its rotation;
A handrail universal coupler characterized by comprising the above. The handrail universal connector according to claim 1,
The main body is formed by combining an upper main body and a lower main body, and the upper main body and the lower main body are formed with a receiving portion that holds the joint portion without being removed when the upper main body and the lower main body are combined. A handrail universal connector, wherein a plurality of recesses are provided. In the universal connection tool of the handrail according to claim 1 or 2,
The handrail universal coupler, wherein the concave portion is provided at a point-symmetrical position with respect to the center of each joint surface of the upper body and the lower body to be joined to each other. In the universal connection tool of the handrail according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The universal connector for a handrail, wherein the concave portion is provided at an asymmetric position with respect to the center of each joint surface of the upper main body and the lower main body to be joined to each other. In the universal connection tool of the handrail according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The joint part is clamped by fastening the upper body and the lower body with fastening members while the joint part is held in the housing part of the body, thereby enabling the handrail to be fixed at a predetermined angle. A universal handrail connector characterized by the above. In the universal connector of the handrail of any one of Claim 1 to 5,
Among the plurality of accommodating portions formed, a spherical member is accommodated in the accommodating portion that does not hold the joint portion of the handrail holder so as to maintain the load balance when the upper body and the lower body are fastened. Handrail universal connector characterized by the above.

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